The Warmth of Her Dragon
by NekoMimiLover
Summary: She loved the warmth of her dragon, he was the fire that led her out of the darkness. Lucy and Natsu meet as little kids, and this is their journey together as Fairy Tail Wizards. NALU!
1. Chapter 1

**Hi Everybody,**

**This is my first fanfic, and I'm really nervous. So please review and tell me what you think!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, only Mashima- Sensei does. **

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A lone girl sat crying in front of her Mother's grave. That's all she seemed to do since her mother's death one month ago.

"Why did you have to leave me, Mama? Why couldn't you have stayed?" She said in between sobs, "Why does Papa have to be so mean to…"

BOOM!

She was cut off by an explosion behind her. When she turned around, she saw a huge red dragon! The dragon spewed fire everywhere, and its eyes were full of malice.

The girl couldn't move. She could barely breathe through the terror that consumed her. All she could do was stare at the enormous beast in front of her.

When she was finally able to look away from the dragon, she saw the all of the servants who worked for her family running and screaming at the top of their lungs. They were all in front of the mansion trying to escape towards the town.

At that moment she noticed two things about what was happening. The first being that the closest town to the mansion was on the other side of the dragon, so for her to be able to get to where everyone else was, she would have to face the dragon. And second thing being that the dragon wasn't attacking the mansion or the people, simply scaring everyone so that they would leave.

When everyone had finally broken away, and ran towards the town, the dragon seemed to calm down. His eyes lost the hostility in them, and he was no longer breathing fire.

But then the dragon seemed to realize that he was being watched, and he turned to look at the little girl huddled near the grave.

"P-please, you can have anything you want in the house... just don't touch Mama's grave!" She said with more conviction towards the end.

The dragon looked taken aback by her request once he realized what she said. His eyes seemed loving and fatherly when he asked, "Why does that grave mean more to you than the house?"

At first, she was startled at the fact that the ferocious beast in front of her could speak, not just growl and roar, but then she realized that he was looking at her in the way that she wished her own father would. And right then and there the once seemingly terrifying beast had unlocked everything that she had kept hidden from everyone around her. Like the tears flowing down her cheeks like a waterfall, her emotions were let out as well, "Mama was my only friend, and now that she's not here, I'm all alone. Everyday's unbearable; everything reminds me of her. Papa hardly looks at me or talks to me and when he does its all mean. It's almost as if he blames me for her death!" At that point she was crying so hard she could barely speak through her sobs, but she finished softly with, "There's no one left that cares about me anymore."

The dragon felt his heart break at her words. The girl couldn't have been more than 10 years old, yet she she beaten down by the unfair logic of the world. She had lost her childlike innocence from the tragedy around her. And he decided that he was going to help her regain her childlike nature. He wanted to see what she looked like when she smiled. When her sobs quieted down into hiccups, he said, "You know, I have a son named Natsu, and he's probably one of the biggest idiots you could ever find."

She was distracted from her mother's death when the dragon started talking. She looked up at him because she was confused about what he suddenly started talking about, "Is he a dragon?"

The dragon just chuckled, "No, he's a human just like you, and probably around your age. He's really dumb and stubborn. One time Natsu insisted that he could take down a giant fish all by himself, the fish was probably 10 times bigger than Natsu was, and he would've gotten himself eaten alive if I didn't save him!"

The girl started to giggle, "How stupid is he? Why did he think he could beat it?"

The dragon decided that the girl looked much cuter when she smiled, " You're right Natsu is very stupid. He doesn't even know how to read."

The girl gasped then glared when he said this, "What do you mean he can't read? I learned how to read when I was 4 years old. And now I can read books at an adult level!" She said impressed with herself.

"Well as a dragon I never really saw the point in learning how to read in the human language, so if I can't teach Natsu how to read then no one is around to teach him." He felt very awkward under the girls glare.

"That's no excuse! Everyone should learn how to read." She then remember what they were originally talking about, "Even if he doesn't know how to read, it still doesn't make sense how he would be dumb enough to battle that enormous fish." She was very curious as to why this boy was so dumb.

"Well, Natsu is a Dragon Slayer which means he can use Fire Dragon Slaying Magic the human form of the kind of magic that I use. So he thought that with his magic he would be able to defeat it." He realizes the girls eyes started to shine when he mentioned magic. "Do you know anything about magic?"

The girl's smile seemed to stretch across half of her face when she spoke about magic. "Yes, Mama was a Celestial Mage, and she always used to tell me stories all about her adventures! Do you have any stories you could tell me?" She looked up at him with the best puppy dog face she could muster.

The dragon realized his plan was working. "Yes, I have lots of stories. The funnier ones all have to do with Natsu though." The girl seemed so happy at that moment, and she didn't seem scared of the fact that he was a dragon.

The girl thought that this was the best present she could ever be given, stories about MAGIC from a DRAGON! "Would you please tell me some? I would love to hear all about it."

Just as he was about to start talking he realized that too much time had passed since everyone else had fled the mansion. Sooner or later they would probably come back looked for the girl they left behind. "I would love to tell you them, but sooner or later all the people who left earlier will come back, and I need to leave before that happens."

At that moment, it was like she had fallen back into the darkness that had surrounded her since her mother's death. "You have to leave?" She said quietly.

The dragon cursed himself. Just as he was getting the light back into her eyes; they clouded over again. "Yeah, but I could come back and tell you them, but I won't be able to meet you out in the open like this. I attract way too much attention."

The girl brightened up at the thought, "You promise you'll come back?"

"I promise. I never break promises with my friends."

An unreadable expressions crossed her face, "Friends?"

"You said earlier that your mother was your only friend, so I thought you'd like another one," he told her with a grin.

She started to cry after he said that.

"I'm sorry, if you don't want to be friends that's ok, I just thought.." He stopped when she started shaking her head.

"No, it's not that. It's just that I've waited so long for someone to call me there friend. I'd be happy to call you my friend!" She had tears streaming down her face, but at the same time she had the brightest smile on. "And when you come back we can meet at the picnic table over there," she said pointing behind the grave. "It's a nice big clearing surrounded by trees, and is far enough away from the mansion that no one would notice."

"Ok, in one week at noon, I'll meet you there." And with that he flapped his wings and took off into the sky.

"Bye... Wait… What's your name?" The girl screamed up to the flying dragon.

When he heard her, he flew down lower, "I'm the Fire Dragon Igneel, and you are?"

"I'm Lucy Heartfilia!" She declared proudly.

"Well then, Lucy Heartfilia, I'll see you in a week!" Once again Igneel flew towards his home and son.

"BYE IGNEEL! SEE YOU SOON!" Lucy called after her newly made friend. For the first time since her mother's death one month ago, Lucy felt as if light and happiness had come back into her life.

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**Please review and tell me what you thought of my first fanfic!**

**NekoMimiLover**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's the Second Chapter of _The Warmth of Her Dragon!_**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or its characters, only Hiro Mashima- Sensei does. **

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When Igneel neared the large clearing where him and his son lived, he saw the stupidest thing he had ever seen. His son, Natsu, was trying to beat a Gorian without using magic. "I guess I should go help that stubborn son of mine."

ROOOOAAAARRRR!

At the sound of Igneel's roar the Gorian ran away.

When Natsu heard his father's roar he turned around. "Dad! Why did you do that? I could've beaten it all by myself!" Natsu said as if he had somehow gained the powers overnight to be able to defeat a monster like that.

Igneel landed in the clearing and face palmed at his son's words. "Maybe you could of beat it if you used magic, but you weren't. Why weren't you?"

Natsu felt embarrassed from the glare his father was giving him, "That Gorian wasn't using magic, so I wasn't gonna use magic either."

Igneel sighed, "Natsu if you don't use your magic then you're no stronger than a human, and do you really think a mere human could beat that huge gorian?"

Natsu felt ashamed, "No."

"Exactly Natsu, be proud of your magic and use it to your advantage. Also, so you can scare away monsters like that, so I won't need to save you. You have to become stronger so you can protect the people closest to you."

Natsu smiled up at his father, "Yeah, one day I'll be the one protecting you, Dad!"

Igneel chuckled, "Not just me, Natsu. Eventually there are going to be other people who are important and you want to be able to protect them."

Natsu looked puzzled at that, "I don't get. You're my only family. Why do I need anyone else?"

"One day I'm sure you'll know what I mean," Igneel said as he thought of the little girl he had met an hour earlier.

"Oh ok," Natsu looked deep in thought until he started jumping around the maniac because he had just remembered, "Oh that's right! What did you bring back from the human village, Dad?" Natsu asked while jumping around his father's face. "Did you get good food or toys?"

Igneel knew he forgot something, and he was just reminded what. "Umm… I forgot to get stuff for dinner," he replied awkwardly.

"What do you mean you didn't get anything! The reason you left me all alone for most of the day to do nothing is so that you can get food for dinner. And if we don't have food for dinner then we can't eat, and I'm HUNGRY! And you says I'm the stupid one" Natsu whined.

"Is food all you ever think about?" Igneel asked aloud.

"Yes." Natsu said very serious.

Igneel faced palmed and asked, "Well, I guess I should go to the lake and catch something. Do you want to come Natsu?"

"Of course, it was boring being all alone. All I could do was beat up that tree over there," Natsu said pointing to a tree at the edge of the clearing, and it was burnt and charred.

"Natsu, I told you not to destroy our home," Igneel scolded while tapping Natsu's head with his talon.

"Ow… Dad that hurts," Natsu said holding his head.

Igneel huffed, "I guess we should go get dinner now, it'll get dark soon." He looked to the sky to see the sun was about to set.

"Yeah let's go!" Natsu screamed as he got on his father's back.

The father laughed at his child's enthusiasm as he took off towards the lake. He hoped that his son would like the present he hoped to give him, a friend.

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**I know this chapter was short, all the ones after this aren't going to be nearly this short. But this chapter was mainly to introduce Natsu and establish his relationship with Igneel.**

**Also I plan to have this story continue on to where the manga/anime are if I ever get there. So as they get older most likely the rating will go up as well. **

**Please review!**

**NekoMimiLover**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi Everybody, **

**Thank you so much for your support in my story, also sorry for the wait, I just got back from Spring Break and school has been hectic.**

**And without further ado, The Warmth of Her Dragon Chapter 3!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, only Hiro Mashima does.**

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Lucy was happily heading towards to the appointed meeting spot. She couldn't wait to see Igneel again and hear his stories and learn more about magic! She was happier than she had ever been since her mother's death.

The past week had been horrible for Lucy. She didn't want her father and servants to suspect anything because she knew they would never let her go see Igneel if they found out it was the dragon that had scared them away from their mansion a week ago. Even though she was much happier now, whenever she saw her mother's grave or something of her mother's, Lucy reverted back to her former self, before she had met Igneel.

But because of Igneel, the heaviness in her heart seemed lighter. Meeting Igneel had sparked a fire in her heart that brought light and warmth to her previously cold and dark world. It was big enough to give her hope, but not enough to end her sorrow.

The closer she got to the clearing the happier she got. She was able to leave behind her sorrow and fantasize about stories and magic! When she reached the clearing, she saw that Igneel was already there, "IGNEEL!" She screamed as she hugged his snout. "You came back!"

Igneel chuckled at the girl's antics. "Of course I came back. I never break my promises to my friends!" Igneel felt relieved when he looked at Lucy because he realized that she looked much happier than she did the week before.

Lucy went and sat down at the picnic table. As she sat she swung her legs back in forth in anticipation for talking with the Fire Dragon.

"Well you seem excited," Igneel noted when he saw that she couldn't seem to keep still.

"Of course I'm excited! This past week has been awful!" Lucy pouted.

"What was so bad about this week?" Igneel asked genuinely curious about why she seemed so happy when she had had such a bad week.

At the thought of what was keeping her down, Lucy slumped down in her chair. She was no longer the happy girl she was moments ago, "Multiple reasons really. The first was that I didn't want to wait to see you again…"

Igneel smiled at the young girl's kind words.

"... The second being that my father didn't really pay attention to me at all, even when you had attacked the mansion, he completely ignored me. And lastly, talking with you last week just made me remember how much I miss Mama. She would always listen to me, and she would never ignore me…" When she started talking about her mom, she started crying.

Igneel cursed himself for making her cry. Just when she started finally seeming truly happy, he had plunged her right back into the black abyss that he mother's death had thrown her in. "Lucy can I ask you a question?" When he spoke he tried to sound as sincere and kind as a fire dragon could.

Still crying, Lucy nodded. "What?"

"Do you think your mother would want you to be this sad? Do you think your mother would want to see you cry?" Igneel realized that he had to help her get out of this depression, and he would try to help her find the joys of life on her own.

Lucy looked confused, "What do you mean?"

Igneel mentally sighed, it felt like trying to explain something to Natsu, "I mean did your mother ever like seeing you sad?"

Lucy quickly shook her head, "No! Whenever I was sad Mama would always try to cheer me up, she said it hurt her when I felt sad."

"Exactly!" Igneel practically shouted.

Lucy flinched at the loudness of his voice, "What do you mean 'exactly'?"

Igneel face palmed, it was exactly like explaining something to Natsu, "If your mother was here, she would want you to be happy not sitting here crying for hours." He told her softly.

At the dragon words, she got angry and shouted, "I know that!"

Igneel was shocked by her outburst, "You know that?"

After realizing her outburst, she quietly said, "I know that Mama would want me to be happy instead of sitting here crying. But I don't know how to be happy when Mama isn't there to cheer me up. I've forgotten what it's like to laugh. I've forgotten how to be happy and smile."

It was at that moment that Igneel realized how he could help the girl in front of him. If he brought laughter and smiles into her life, then she could be happy, "Maybe you don't remember how to be happy right now, but you can always learn again?"

The girl looked defeated by the world around her when she said, "I can?"

"Yes, you can always find things to make you happy," As gently as a dragon could he used his claw to wipe her face from the tears.

"But how do I do that?" Lucy was desperate to leave the dark, yet she couldn't seem to manage it by herself, she needed a guiding hand.

"Well, you said that you miss your mother and loved her very much, so why did you love her so much?" He thought the best way to cheer her up was think of happy times with her mother, and then do the same things her mother did to make her happy.

The ghost of a smile made its way across her face at the thought of her happy times with her mother, "Mama was the prettiest person ever! She was kind and gentle, and she always made me laugh."

"What did you love the most about your mother?" Igneel inquired.

A smile had finally made its way on Lucy's face, "I loved her stories she would always tell me."

"What kind of stories did she tell you?" In his head Igneel was cheering that he got Lucy to remember her mother and not be sad.

Lucy looked up to the sky in thought of the tons of stories her mother shared, "She told me tons of different kinds although they were mainly fairy tales or stories revolving around her Celestial Spirits. I liked ones about the Celestial Spirits better because Mama would sometimes bring out her Spirits to tell me stories! Isn't that incredible?" Lucy was waving her hands all around and smiling as bright as the sun.

Igneel laughed at the little girl's enthusiasm, "That's incredible! Hearing their own stories from the actual spirits. So what was your favorite story?"

"Even though the stories about Celestial Spirits are great, I'd have to say I liked the stories Mama told me about her own adventures as a Celestial Spirit mage the best. They were always so incredible, so it made me want to be Celestial Spirit Mage."

"Is that what you want to be when you grow up?"

A determined look crossed Lucy's face at the question, "Yup, that's my dream, to be an incredible Celestial Spirit Mage. I want to collect all 12 Zodiac Keys and be the best wizard ever!" Lucy exclaimed with a laugh.

"It's going to be very hard to collect all 12 of the keys."

Lucy looked crestfallen for a second…

Then Igneel smiled and said, "But I'm sure with that much conviction you'll definitely be able to do it."

Lucy giggled, "I know it's going to be tough, but I love Celestial Spirits!"

Igneel smiled back down to the small girl. He seemed to realize that Lucy's smile brightened the world around her.

"Ne Igneel? Do you have any stories?" Looking up at the huge dragon expectantly.

As he started to think of one to tell her, he realized that most of his past experiences weren't appropriate for the girl in front of him to hear. And Lucy had enough tragedy in her life to begin with, "Well I don't know… What do you want to hear about, Lucy?"

She contemplated her answer for a few moments before she remembered something he had mentioned at their first meeting, "Oh I know! Tell me about your son!"

Igneel looked down at her shocked that she could remember the brief moment he had mentioned his son.

"What was his name?" She was completely ignoring Igneel's flabberghasted expression as she started to talk to herself, "It was Natsu!" She exclaimed proud of herself for remembering.

"I don't really know where to start with Natsu," Igneel replied a little lamely.

"Well..." Lucy started, "What does he look like?"

Igneel instantly knew what to say with that prompt as he confidently stated, "He has spiky, pink hair."

Lucy looked dumbfounded at his description.

"Umm…" he started awkwardly but couldn't finish his thought because Lucy immediately started to laugh.

"Pink hair!" She was practically doubled over from laughing so hard. "That's such a weird color."

Igneel looked surprised as he asked, "Really?" when she finally started to calm down.

Lucy immediately stopped laughing when he said that, "What do you mean, really?" Looking at him with a deadpanned expression.

"Is pink really a weird color?" Igneel asked nervously.

"Of course it's a weird color! Pink hair on a boy is funny!" As she started to giggle again.

"Why is pink hair weird?" Igneel asked genuinely curious about this aspect of humans.

Lucy was stumped. Why was pink weird for a boy, she honestly had to think about that. "Well… pink is often seen as a much more feminine color so boys don't like to wear pink clothes because they think it's hurts their manliness," she said sounded thrice her age.

Igneel was honestly impressed that she even knew what feminine meant let alone properly use it in a sentence. "Oh… that's interesting."

"Wait! Igneel you never knew that?" She asked honestly surprised that the dragon didn't know what was a girly color and what wasn't.

"Well, Lucy, I am a dragon, and not too many dragons try to understand humans. Also, dragons have different customs and different standards of beauty, so I honestly didn't know."

"Oh that makes sense," she said with a nod. "Which reminds me! If Natsu is a human and not a dragon then he isn't your actually son, is he?"

Igneel was once again surprised but the matureness of the girl in front of him, she understood the ways of the world better than most teenagers would. "Yes, that's true, Natsu isn't my real son, but I treat him like one."

Lucy just couldn't seem to wrap her head around this situation with her sparse knowledge of the dragon in front of her and his son. "So, why do you take care of Natsu? Why isn't he with his parents?"

Igneel wasn't sure how she would react to the truth, but he told her anyway, "Well I found Natsu when he was a baby in the forest. His parents had abandoned him, so I took him in as my son. I raised Natsu and taught him magic."

At his story a range of emotions flashed across her face, confused, sadness, loss, and curiosity. But sadness and loss won over in what emotion she was going to respond with, "His parents abandoned him?" She asked in a small voice.

Igneel didn't like the truth either, he couldn't understand why anyone would want to abandon their own child, it was absurd to his dragon nature. Dragons have a very strong sense of loyalty and protection to their children and mates, "Yes, and Natsu knows that I'm not his actual father, so he has abandonment issues. He doesn't like it when I leave, because he just feels like he's going to be left alone again."

Lucy didn't know what to say to that, should she apologize or what? But, Lucy being the curious girl she was couldn't neglect one word he said, "You mentioned it before that Natsu was learning magic, some type of dragon magic, I think. What is it exactly?"

Igneel was thankful for Lucy's incessant curiosity, "He's learning Dragon Slayer Magic. It's a magic that let's him take on the attributes of a dragon. And the type of Dragon Slayer Magic he's learning is for fire."

Lucy's eyes sparkled as brightly as his fire when she asked, "What kind of attributes?"

"Well, because he is a Fire Dragon Slayer he's immune to fire and use fire to attack. But one of the most interesting things is that he he can replenish his magic by eating fire." Replied Igneel knowledgeably.

"HE CAN EAT FIRE!" She screamed in astonishment.

Igneel started to get a nervous sweat thinking lucy thought she was it was scary and that he was a monster.

"THAT'S SO COOL! He must be really amazing!" She looked up at him with awe.

"I think you two would get along really well. You're probably one of the few people in the world that doesn't think Dragon Slayers a monsters." He said thinking of the torment Dragon Slayers have received in the past by other humans.

"Well of course not! Everyone is special and if everyone tried hard I'm sure they could understand each other and become friends. Like Mama's Celestial Spirits, their all my friends not just magic!"

But Igneel could never reply because a voice had cut off whatever he was going to say next.

"LUCY-SAMA~~~~~~. IT'S TIME TO COME INSIDE NOW!" One of the servants yelled out to her.

Lucy immediately froze up at the sound of Spetto's voice. "I'LL BE RIGHT THERE!" She yelled back.

"You should probably go before they come all the way out here and see me," Igneel said really softly to her.

Lucy was devastated at the thought of leaving Igneel again, "I know I should go, but do you promise to come back?"

He smiled down to her, "Of course, I'll be back in four days, same time, same place. And I'll wait until your father away until I leave."

"OK four days it is," she replied with a smile. "See you, Igneel!" And with that she ran off back to her house filled with servants and a neglectful father.

"Bye Lucy" And with that he waited until he took off into the sky towards his son, with the promise of a new friend for him.

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**Thank for reading and please review!**

**NekoMimiLover**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi Everybody! Sorry for the really long time since I last updated! It's been crazy, and I had the hardest time writing this chapter but I finally finished it! I hope that after this awful case of writers block I will start to post much more frequently! I have all the chapters thought out now all I need to do is write them!**

**I hope you like it!**

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"Do you want to stay here Lucy?" Igneel suddenly asked Lucy. The two of them had been talking for a while but had fallen into comfortable silence. This was their third time seeing each other, and they were now very comfortable with one another.

Lucy was sitting on the ground in front of Igneel when she looked up at him biting her lip in apprehension, "What do you mean, Igneel? Do I want to stay here?"

Igneel started to regret asking her this, "Well, you always talk about how unhappy you are with your father and your life here, so I was wondering if you actually wanted to stay here."

Lucy looked down at her feet because she couldn't face Igneel, "I've actually thought about that a lot since I met you."

Igneel stared at Lucy shocked that she had thought about this, "Why did you think about leaving? Why would you want to leave?"

Lucy's gaze turned to the sky and with a huge smile on her face she said, "I want to see the world. I want to explore and see all sorts of different people and places. I want to see the world Mama always talked about in her stories. I don't want to stay here all my life living in that mansion. I want to see the world that Mama saw and to see the places that my books talk about!"

Igneel stared at Lucy dumbfounded by her answer and couldn't believe how adventures this little human could be.

Lucy then turned and looked at Igneel for the first time since he brought it up, "Is it really that wrong that I want to leave my father?" Saddened by his expression.

Igneel quickly realized his mistake and shook his head. "No, it's not wrong at all Lucy. Your unhappy here so it's not unnatural that you'd want to leave. It's just that I wasn't expecting you to already want to leave."

Lucy looked up at him confused, "Why would you care if I want to leave?"

Igneel realized that this was the moment of truth for whether or not his plan would work, "Well I was wondering if you wanted to leave here and come live with Natsu and I? Because I know you're not happy here and I was wondering if maybe you'd want to live with the two of us." Igneel realized he was starting to ramble and saw the look on Lucy's face and got worried that he said the wrong thing.

Lucy was shocked by Igneel's offer, she didn't know what to think about that, "Come live with you and Natsu?"

Igneel really hoped he didn't mess this up, because he really wanted to Lucy to come live with him and Natsu. He thought that Lucy would be a good influence on Natsu and teach Natsu how to interact with other humans, but at the same time he really wanted to get Lucy away from her father, he saw how bad of an influence Lucy's father had on her. And how depressed it was making her so he really wanted her to leave so she could smile again, "Yeah, would you like to come live with me and Natsu?"

But after seeing the stunned look on Lucy's face he started waving his hands in front of his face in a panic while saying, "Of course you don't have to if you don't want to! I just wanted you to know that the offer is open if you would like to come live with us!"

Lucy startled to giggle at the sight of the mighty dragon panicking and acting all flustered, "No, it's not that I wouldn't want to go live with you and Natsu, in fact it sounds like a lot of fun. It's just that I this is my home and I don't think I'm ready to leave just yet. I still want to stay here and see if my father really cares."

Igneel was deeply disappointed by Lucy's answer but decided there was nothing he could do, since he wouldn't force her to leave, "Oh ok then. Oh! Have I ever told you about the time Natsu…"

And with that there conversation about Lucy leaving ended. Until the accident that happened a two days later right before Lucy would see Igneel again.

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For the first time since Lucy's mother's death, the servants saw Lucy actually being happy.

Lucy was skipping down the halls with a bright smile on her face holding a rice ball with a little face on it.

To all the servants it seemed as if Lucy had finally gotten over her mother's death and her depression, but in reality Lucy was just happy that in an hour she would see Igneel again. And because of her happiness to see Igneel, she made her father a rice ball all by herself!

Lucy wanted to make her father happy and she thought making something for him would make her father happy with her so that's just what she did.

But as she got to the doors of her father's study she got warned off by her maids saying that she shouldn't disturb him since he was at work and probably wouldn't appreciate Lucy interfering. But Lucy went ahead anyway and walked inside the study.

But as she walked towards the desk which her father was sitting at, she started to lose confidence. And by the time she got there she was almost trembling.

"Father I made you this riceball all by myself. If you could I hope you would try it, so you can have more energy to work today." Said Lucy as she placed the riceball on some of her father's papers.

Her father slowly stood up, and Lucy startled to visibly tremble at the sight of her father's scowl. And she almost missed seeing her father smack the riceball off his desk, and she completely missed seeing his hand smack across her face. All she felt was the hard smack of his hand. And the whipping sensation of her neck.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING LUCY! IF YOU HAVE TIME TO LAZE AROUND THEN YOU SHOULD BE STUDYING WITH YOUR TUTORS! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT RIGHT NOW!" He said as he pointed angrily towards the door after he hit Lucy.

Lucy just stood there shocked with her hand on her cheek until she heard him yelling at her to get out. Which then she was so frightened that she got up and ran without another word.

When she got out of the study she ran past all the maids and headed straight to her room. When she got to her room she was still in shock about what happened and she hadn't fully comprehended what had gone down, but once she realized she immediately burst into tears.

She sobbed and cried until she couldn't any longer. She cried over the loss of her loving father and mother and the pain of her cheek. After her sobbing died down she finally heard the voices of her servants shouting at her from the other side of the door. And hearing them shout reminded her that she was supposed to meet up with Igneel.

Without a second thought, Lucy opened her door and burst through the crowd of maids and butlers that had formed around her room and ran towards the back garden where Igneel was waiting for her.

She ran without turning back on her home.

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Igneel was startled when he saw Lucy burst into the clearing, disheveled and looking like she had been crying for a really long time, "Whoa Lucy! What's going on? What happened?"

Lucy just looked up at Igneel panting hard with her hands on her knees, "Take me away fast!"

Igneel still confused by what was going on started to hear voice in the distance calling for Lucy, "What do you mean Lucy? What's going on?"

Lucy heard her servants calling for her and immediately got scared and walked towards Igneel, "Please Igneel, I don't have time to explain but I have to leave! I can't stay here any longer take me to where you and Natsu live please!"

Realizing that the voices were getting closer and closer he realized that this was his last chance if he wanted Lucy to come live with him and Natsu so he decided to take it, "Alright get on my back, but you're going to have to explain this to me later."

Lucy immediately ran up and got on Igneel's back, "Of course now let's go!"

And with that Igneel took off into the skies. Leaving behind the girls home and family into a world of new adventures and friends.

What happened next Lucy would have never expected to happen as she flew off on a dragon's back not looking back of on her home and mother.

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**NekoMimiLover**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi Everybody!**

**I'm so sorry about the long wait this chapter was so hard to write! But I have gotten back and have some amazing ideas for the next few chapters so I hope the wait won't be too long. Also thank you to all of you who have reviewed and favorited my story, you are what has kept this story, so thank you so much! **

**Again, I own nothing, only Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail unfortunately.**

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Lucy had never felt more free in that moment as when she was flying with Igneel for the first time. She felt as if she could do anything and that she could see everything the world had to offer. She could see miles around and as far as the eye could see. For the first time she felt she saw a world other than the one her father showed her.

But her joy soon ended after Igneel landed in a clearing far away from her "haunted" mansion. After he landed he motioned for Lucy to climb off his back.

Something about the way that Igneel was looking down at her reminded her of her father before she had left the mansion. But underneath his harsh expression, Lucy could tell that Igneel wasn't really mad at her by the softness around his eyes. It felt so fatherly and loving compared to what her father had done to her less than an hour ago that she started to cry.

Igneel freaked out and got very flustered at Lucy's, at least to him, sudden show of tears, "Whoa, Lucy what's wrong? Was it something I said? Did something happen?"

Lucy could barely speak through her harsh sobs that shook her body with every breath. She just fell apart after everything that had happened to her in the last two months. She finally was breaking completely and utterly.

Igneel watched helpless as he saw Lucy break apart. And in that moment Igneel realized that he personally could not help her, she was far too broken for the dragon to put back together. She needed go to with someone who could hold her and sympathize without being a very very old dragon. And he realized that in that moment Lucy needed to go to Natsu. Natsu was the only person who could put her back together again.

But as Igneel thought he was scared of the consequences of bringing her to Natsu because he knew the interaction could easily ease Lucy of all of her problems, but at the same time it could make everything worse. But Igneel soon realized after listening to more of her sobbing that it was a gamble he was going to have to take.

So he did what he could in the meantime, he brought his face to Lucy and softly spoke comforting words while she slowly cried herself into unconsciousness.

After he was certain she was in a deep sleep, Igneel slowly brought her up into his hand and flew the short rest of the way home, to wherever his son was.

* * *

For the first time ever Igneel felt nervous about coming home to Natsu. He was sure Natsu would freak out but he hoped that Natsu would calm down and act maturely by the time Lucy woke up. But judging on how tired she seemed wouldn't be for a long time.

When Igneel landed down into the clearing, Natsu came storming up to him as usual asking what he had gotten and why he had taken so long, but Igneel barely heard him over his pounding heart because of his anxiousness over what was going to happen next.

"Natsu!"

Natsu abruptly stopped his rambling and stood straight up at Igneel's yell, "Yes!"

Igneel inwardly smiled at Natsu unsure and slightly scared expression, but didn't show it for the gravity of the situation. He put his face right in front of Natsu and calmly stated, "Son, I'm going to tell you something really important right now and I don't want you to freak out and make a scene. Got it?"

Natsu just silently nodded instead of saying anything because he knew that when his father got into these types of moods to just listen to what he says without arguing if you don't want to face the consequences.

"Ok now what I'm going to tell you is a very long story, and so sit down and get comfortable. And absolutely don't interrupt me unless I say so. Understood?"

Natsu just silently sat down as his confirmation that he was listening and was going to do what his father told him to do.

As Igneel prepared what he was going to say to Natsu he discreetly brought his hand that was still holding Lucy in front of Natsu so he could show her to Natsu at the right moment.

Igneel took one last deep breath before he started his story.

As Igneel told Natsu about Lucy, he was surprised about how seriously his son was taking it. He honestly expected Natsu to interrupt him at one point or another, but he guessed that Natsu actually does know when to be serious and when he can have fun and play around.

As Igneel got closer and closer to telling Natsu about what happened today, he could barely hear himself of his nervous pounding heart, "Up until today Lucy's Father had mainly ignored her after her Mother's death, I'm not entirely sure what happened but I guess Lucy tried to talk to him, and her father didn't react very well, causing Lucy to be more depressed than she already was. And because of this when I went to go see her today she begged me to take her away from her home.

"And that's what I did.

"But the thing is Natsu, Lucy has been through a really dramatic time, and I'm not sure how she's going to recover from this. You have to be there to help her, she really needs a friend right now, to help her get over this." As Igneel was saying this he brought Lucy out from underneath her hand and showed her to Natsu.

"Oh my god." Natsu gasped out as he ran over to Lucy and saw her expression and how red and puffy her face was from crying for so long.

"Dad, but I don't know what I can do. I'm a dragon, I can't help her," Natsu stayed just away from her though not touching, as if afraid of himself.

"Yes you can Natsu. You're going to help her, because you know what its like to be ostracized, and really sad. Please Natsu help her, she really needs you."

But Natsu could barely comprehend what was happening, but when he saw this girl for first time he wanted to help her, she seemed so fragile and small but at the same time so beautiful, like an angel that had fallen from heaven, with her golden hair framing her face.

Natsu slowly reached out and put his hand on her cheek revelling in the softness of her skin. But as he got closer he realized that Lucy was not as peaceful as she appeared to be from a distance, she had too many burdens on her shoulders. Her eyes were so red and she basically looked like she was just thrown around and couldn't take the weight of the world anymore, her body tense and strained.

Natsu could barely believe that this little girl could harbor all this sadness inside of her. So he picked her up with as much sincerity and gentleness as he could. And held her close to his heart in hopes of protecting her from herself.

Igneel could barely believe what he was witnessing, he had never seen Natsu respond with that much gentleness with anything, and he could even minutely see that Natsu's presence had eased Lucy's mind somewhat, her body seemed more relaxed than it had a few minutes before.

"Igneel, what do I do." Natsu wanted to help this girl so bad he could barely stand it.

"We'll just have to wait for her to wake up, that's all we can do right now, son." Igneel said sadly because he knew they just needed to wait for her to wake up.

Natsu just nodded once and held Lucy just a little bit closer to him.

Both Igneel and Natsu waiting in trepidation for the moment in which Natsu would truly meet Lucy.

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**NekoMimiLover**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm proud to present one of my fastest updates, and I hope this trend continues. I had a very hard time setting up this story with the first few chapters but I'm happy that now we're really getting into the story. **

**I hope to continue this story for a long time so please look forward to it!**

**Disclaimer: As always, I own nothing, only Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail. **

* * *

Natsu couldn't believe what had happened to him, but all he knew was that he wanted to help this girl.

He sat there for he didn't know how long just holding her. He didn't say anything to Igneel after he was told that he had to wait for her to wake up. He just wanted to see her eyes that belonged to this girl, but he was almost afraid.

He was afraid that she was far too broken for him to fix. But at the same time he wanted to be the person who would save her, at the moment he first saw her something changed in him. It sparked a light in him that for so long been put out.

So he sat, listening to her breathing, in out, in out. He thought the sound was so calming and couldn't wait to see what her voice sounded like.

By the time she started to squirm a little bit in his arms, the sun was setting. Natsu felt all the air leave his lungs. And his fear skyrocketed because he was so unsure about how she was gonna act.

As slowly opened her eyes it was one of the most horrific things he had ever seen.

Her eyes had no light in them, it was completely blank.

It was as if she wasn't seeing what was around her at all.

Natsu had felt that many emotions in his life. He felt angry at the people who had done this to her, and so sad for the girl who had the light completely escape her eyes.

She didn't even speak, she just stared blankly in front of her.

Natsu swallowed back the sobs that were threatening to escape at the sight of Lucy. But he held back his fear and gently said, "Lucy?"

Lucy immediately flinched and looked up at him and for fast that Natsu barely even believed he saw it, he saw the brightness that was dying out inside of her.

And that's when he made his decision. He was going to help bring back the light in her life. If it was the last thing he did.

He didn't know why but he felt such a strong connection to this girl, and he felt that he had to do this, for her.

But leaving as fast as it came, Lucy's blank expression came back and she just seemed like a statue or a shell of her former self.

Natsu knew Igneel was coming towards him, most likely to speak to Lucy, but Natsu didn't make any move to acknowledge that Igneel was there. He was too focused on Lucy and how to possibly help her.

"Lucy, it's me, Igneel." Igneel said softly to her, afraid to frighten her, even though it seemed that she wasn't able of processing emotion right now.

Lucy just stared blankly at Igneel, unable to process anything in that moment. The only thing she could do was sit there and stare at the dragon she knew had saved her, but couldn't do anything about it.

"Lucy, this is Natsu, he's my son, I told you about him, remember?" Igneel comforted trying to get some reaction out of Lucy.

But it was futile, Lucy was almost completely broken.

Natsu then slowly turned to Igneel and said "I got this, Dad."

Igneel was so shocked at the protectiveness Natsu was showing towards Lucy. But he says the want and desire to protect and help her, so he just silently nodded his head and padded over to the other side of the clearing and laid down facing away from the two children.

Natsu and Igneel both knew that Igneel could hear everything, but Natsu couldn't have cared less at that moment, he just wanted to try to help her without his dad hovering over his shoulder.

Natsu softly picked Lucy up and brought her over to the clearing so Natsu could lean up again one of the trees. The whole while feeling more helpless than he ever had in his short 9 years of life.

But Natsu did what he knew made him feel better when he was upset, he wrapped his scarf that he had gotten from Igneel, when he first succeeding at his Fire Dragon's Roar. He wrapped it around Lucy, and slowly rocked her back and forth while whispering comforting things in her ear.

But mainly all he was saying was, "It's going to be ok, it's going to be ok, it's going to be ok…," Over and over again like a mantra, hoping that it could help her even the tiniest bit.

And he slowly saw after what felt like centuries of doing it he felt Lucy loosen up, and almost completely fall against him.

Eventually, Lucy started to speak, and when she did he kept up his rocking, but didn't say anything, because he had wanted to hear her voice so badly.

"I… don't… want… to be… alone… I don't want to be alone anymore. I'm always alone. And my father hates me. I have no one left… no one…"

Even though Lucy was talking, her expression didn't change. It was as blank as ever, but just by the fact that she was now talking meant that she was coming out of this hardship, even if just slightly.

Eventually Natsu realized that Lucy's body couldn't take the pressure that this stress was putting on her.

So he slowly slid down to the ground. With Lucy and held her close to him on their sides.

And he said the one thing that sparked the smallest bit of light inside Lucy's heart.

"It's ok, I'm here."

* * *

Lucy slowly felt herself waking up from what she hoped would end her nightmare, but all it did was bring her crashing back to reality.

She couldn't see anything, her entire world was covered in darkness, there was no more colors around her. She couldn't feel anything, she just felt like she was floating in space.

Even the sky looked so gray.

But she couldn't do anything. All she could hear was the sound of her father yelling at her. Over and over again, never ending.

"Lucy"

She froze in that moment afraid that her father was going to hit her again, but as she looked up all she saw was a boy her age. But she couldn't move, she was scared, and sad, and the world just didn't make sense to her. As she stared at the world it just seemed to get darker and darker

So she sat there, but this time she didn't hear anything. All she heard was a deafening silence around her.

She just wanted it all to end…

"It's ok, it's ok, it's ok…" She didn't make any movements but she heard the boys voice, and she started to feel his arms around her pulling her closer to him.

But more than anything, he felt warm. Compared to frozen abyss that was the world around her.

But just as she started to enjoy the warmth that he was offering to her, she remembered how truly alone she was. She had nothing anymore.

And then she remembered to speak, and it just came out broken, but that's how she felt on the inside, "I… don't… want… to be… alone… I don't want to be alone anymore. I'm always alone. And my father hates me. I have no one left… no one…"

And the cold was back and enveloping her. She just wanted it to end…

But then she felt him move and lay her down next to him, and utter the four words that changed her whole world.

"It's ok, I'm here."

And at that moment all crumbled apart, even though it was small, she saw color, and heard his voice so clearly, inside of the muffled sounds she had been hearing before.

And that was all it took.

Lucy held onto Natsu sobbing into his chest, wanting to feel closer to him. She didn't want to feel alone.

She just cried out her frustration that her father didn't pay attention to her, her sadness that her beloved mother was gone, and the harsh loneliness that she has felt every single day since her mother's death.

But when her sobbing started to die down, she felt lighter than she had in so long. And so she muttered two short words right before she fell asleep again, to the boy who had started to save her from her darkness.

"Thank you"

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**NekoMimiLover**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: I wrote another story earlier today and it was so refreshing! The last couple months I have made so many drafts of this chapter its not even funny but I did it! And I hope that I've gotten out of my funk. I have a much more clear image for this story than I've had in so long so thank you to everyone for you're patience! **

**Here it is Chapter 7!**

* * *

_Where am I? _

_What is this place?_

_It's dark._

_I can't see anything. _

_Momma… help me. _

* * *

Lucy hardly felt anything.

Everything was dull and far away.

She couldn't even tell where she was the world just seemed to be traveling farther and farther away.

Her eyes were open and she knew she was awake.

But she felt like she was just floating in a dark, cold place.

The world felt like it lost all of its color and warmth.

But suddenly she saw something coming near her.

_A hand? _

She looked up the arm to see whose hand it was. And saw a boy around her age.

But that was all she noticed.

From what felt like miles away she him say, "Come here, I wanna show you something." She saw his mouth move and saw his bright smile, but it still felt as if his voice was somewhere far away.

But she decided to trust him. And blindly sat up and took his hand.

It's so warm, she thought and she started walking with the boy. Although she didn't really noticed she was walking or that there was the dragon on the other side of the clearing that she had befriended all those weeks before. Or that she was in a forest at all.

All she felt and noticed was the warmth of his hand. It was the only warm thing she felt left.

Before she knew it though, because she was just staring at his hand, she tripped on a tree root.

As she fell she accidentally let go of his hand.

She immediately felt the loss of warmth from him and felt immediately lost without him to anchor her.

In a short few seconds the world seemed be going farther and farther away again.

She dazedly watched as the boy turned and seemed startled that she fell onto her knees. He immediately kneeled down as well and asked, "Are you ok? Are you hurt? Do you want me to carry you?" He said this all in a flurry with his hands waving everywhere by the thought that she could've been hurt.

She sat there unable to do anything. Her body felt so heavy, she was surprised that she hadn't just fallen to the floor already.

And then it was there again. That warmth he was holding her hand. And all the sudden he heard his kind voice clearly for the first time, "I just wanted to take you to see something that I think will cheer you up. Do you think you can walk just a little farther or do you want me to carry you?"

He stood up a little, preparing for her to stand again or come back down to carry her.

She nodded. She would do anything to hold onto this small amount of warmth and comfort. She shakily stood up again, and she looked up at his dazzling smile, but she couldn't find it in her to speak let alone lift up the sides of her lips.

He turned around and much more slowly than the last time started guiding her through the forest again.

Time wasn't relevant to her turbulent mind. Nothing was registering at all except for the warmth of the boy in front of her.

The next time they stopped it was because of him. He slowed down but she was behind him so she couldn't see what was in front of them.

Again he turned around and spoke to her, "I heard about what happened so I wanted to take you to the place that always makes me feel better. And I hope it's gonna do the same for you." Not letting go of her hand, he brought her around to show her the most beautiful sight she had ever seen.

Before her was a huge lake. But because of the sunlight the lake seemed to go on just glistening. In the background she saw huge mountains surrounded by trees and the lake. And just a little bit it felt like she saw the blue of the water. The green of the trees around her. Just a little bit she felt the warmth of the sunlight.

She turned over to the boy. And saw something even more magical. She saw how glistening water was reflecting off his dark eyes, making them sparkle so brightly. And she saw his small smile.

As if feeling her gaze, he looked over at her. And his eyes seemed to sparkle even brighter at the sight of her. His smile got so big it seemed as if his face would split in half.

She wanted to feel that way. She wanted just carefree happiness that she lost.

And maybe with him she might just get it.

Her future with him would be brighter.

And with that thought she gave the tiniest of smiles, who had started to bring warmth and light back into her life.

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**NekoMimiLover**


	8. Chapter 8

Natsu knew in that moment, he had done something to help her, but there was still so much left to help her with.

But he also knew he wanted to hear her voice. He wanted to see her really smile. He wanted to see her eyes be brighter.

And he would do everything in his power to make that happen.

But Natsu knew that wouldn't happen immediately, somehow he just knew that the scars and wounds left on her wouldn't disappear immediately, that they might never go away. But he wanted to make it so that she wouldn't be in pain any longer.

Looking down at her smile he decided to make her feel at home, Natsu didn't really get it himself but something compelled him to help her.

He squeezed her hand that was still in his and said, "Come on, we should head back. Igneel will be waiting back, hopefully with some food!"

And her eyes seemed to get wider at the mention of the dragon, and stood up a little straighter and squeezed his hand back. His already blinding smile seemed to get just a bit bigger at the feel of this.

As he guided her through the forest, Natsu realized that Igneel and him didn't really have a place for her, or clothes or anything. There was a little place where Natsu sleeps but it's not really big enough for two people, and even though Natsu thought about all of this he realized he didn't care, he would do anything for her.

When he noticed her tugging on his hand more and more he slowed down so she wouldn't be too pressured, but he realized that she didn't seem very strong. Even a short walk seemed to be hard on her.

But luckily they got to the clearing where Natsu and Igneel lived.

"Dad!" Natsu cried to his father figure, but it wasn't Natsu who reached the dragon first, no it was Lucy.

For the first time she intentionally let go of Natsu's hand to run towards the dragon. When she reached Igneel she buried herself into his large snout. Natsu stared in awe at Lucy, she was the first person he had ever seen besides him ever touch his father, everyone else always ran and fled screaming. But Lucy was now trying to hug the dragon, and Natsu immediately felt better.

Natsu noticed his father being so gently with her and trying to nuzzle a little bit back to her. "Lucy…" Natsu heard his father say, "You're ok now, Natsu and I are here. I know it's been hard for you, but you don't have to worry anymore, you can stay with us as long as you want. You don't have to go back to that house if you don't want to. We'll never make you leave unless you want to."

Lucy didn't say anything or do anything, just nodded her head against the dragons face, unable to come up with words. But she slumped a little bit more against him as if a weight had been taken off her shoulders.

Unable to hold back, Natsu walked towards them and said quietly, "Exactly, you can stay as long as you like. This can be your home now."

Lucy immediately looked up when she heard him say "home", her eyes were so wide but Natsu could tell, they were a little brighter. She just nodded again and then leaned into Natsu.

Natsu stumbled back a bit not anticipating her reaction but smiled all the same and put his arms around her.

Igneel couldn't have been happier at the sight of the two children hugging, but he was still disheartened. The inquisitive, talkative girl he met a few weeks ago was gone. He honestly started expecting Lucy to start talking but it appeared it was still too much for her. But Igneel wanted to help her but Igneel knew that was a huge task and had no idea where to start, but he realized there was one simple thing he could do.

Breakfast.

Smiling a little more Igneel said, "Well Lucy, now that you'll be staying with us for the time being, I guess we should eat some breakfast!"

The two kids looked up at Igneel when he started talking, but he got two drastically different reactions from what he said, Natsu looked so excited at the prospect of food, whereas Lucy just looked down, as if not hearing anything.

"Yeah that would be great, Dad!" Natsu exuberantly said with his arms still around Lucy, "What's there to eat?"

Igneel was a little nervous with Lucy's response but decided they really did need to eat and maybe having positive things going on around her would help so, "We don't really have much here at the moment, but I'll go get something right now, I'll be back in less than an hour, so Natsu show Lucy around. This will be home for a little while, Lucy." And with that the dragon took of to the sky to feed the people he considered family, even if they were different species.

Natsu pulled in Lucy a little closer when he felt Igneel fly away because he knew how strong his wings could be. But when Igneel was out of sight Natsu looked over at Lucy who seemed to be better but still her eyes were dark and glassed over.

"So Igneel will be gone for a while, what do you want to do until then?" At this moment all Natsu wanted to do was to get Lucy to talk but it wasn't that easy.

The girl just shrugged her shoulders, barely even acknowledging the question. But it was then that Natsu noticed something very disturbing.

Her left cheek was starting to turn purple, in the faint silhouette of a hand.

Natsu felt his anger boil at the sight but calmed himself down some because he realized there was nothing he could do, but he gently brought his hand up to cup the wounded cheek.

Lucy flinched when she felt his hand on her cheek, and turned to look up at him.

For the first time, Natsu saw emotion in Lucy's eyes, but it was not one he wanted to see again, it was one of fear. So he gently asked her, "Does it hurt?"

She just shrugged her shoulders again, and looked down as if anticipating that Natsu would hurt her.

Natsu realized that he had to do something to make sure that Lucy knew he would never hurt her, so he hugged her again and said, "I promise I'll never hurt you. Don't worry, I'll protect you."

Lucy just seemed to sag into his arms as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

"We should get something to help that. Come on," Natsu said as he unwrapped his arms from around her and started to walk off into the small shelter house thing that he kept some things in, to grab a cloth, but then noticed Lucy wasn't with him.

He went and looked around and saw her in the same place but one of her hands was extended in front of her, and it was then that Natsu realized that she had been waiting for him to take her hand. So he went over a grabbed her hand and exclaimed, "Come on!"

And this time she went walking with him, and let him get the cloth.

He then retook her hand and started walking toward the lake again, "I know we we're just there but we're going to the lake again, if you get tired tell me ok? I can carry you if you need me to."

Lucy just nodded along, but picked up her pace a tiny bit at the prospect of going to the lake again. So they made the ten minute trek out to the lake in comfortable silence.

When the got there Natsu dipped the cloth in the cool water then placed it on Lucy's cheek, "Does that feel better? It's good to get it to cool down."

Lucy nodded and leaned a little more into his hand while putting her own on top of his. Her eyes slowly closed to savor the comfort that was being offered to her.

Natsu watched in awe from the serene look on Lucy's face. For this short moments she looked peaceful. Although he knew if he could see her eyes that haunted look would still be there.

"Do you want to stay here for a little while?" He asked her seeing as she didn't seem to want to move. Also she was probably tired.

She opened her eyes and nodded, so Natsu took her other hand and brought them over to one of the large trees surrounding the lake, and got her to sit down against it facing the lake. And there the two sat until Igneel came and found them.

* * *

For the next week, Natsu and Lucy hardly left each others side.

And Lucy had not spoken a single word the whole time.

Natsu could tell Lucy not talking was worrying Igneel, even if Igneel never said it outloud. The dragon was always trying to get Lucy to talk even if it was just yes or no. But for the seven days since she had came to them she had not spoken a single word.

But on the fifth day, she had laughed.

Natsu and Lucy were down by the lake where they had spent most of their time since Lucy came because Lucy seemed most at peace there.

Lucy was sitting on the edge of the lake with her feet in the water and Natsu was just jumping around and splashing trying to get a reaction out of her. But at some point his foot got stuck on something so he fell into the water flat on his face. And when he came up Lucy was sitting there her eye's brighter than he had ever seen them, giggling at him.

It was the lightest most carefree sound he had ever heard. And he wanted to make it happen again. And her light giggling was so contagious than he burst out laughing as well.

At the time Natsu had thought because she was laughing, she would finally talk to him too, but that wasn't the case.

The first time Lucy spoke, was not as happy and carefree as that.

* * *

Natsu awoke to the sound of whimpering.

He opened his eyes to see Lucy who was sleeping next to him. She was sprawled across the ground and she was flailing her arms around a little. But the worst part was the tears that were slowing making their way down Lucy's face.

Natsu just stared at Lucy unsure of what was going on. And then he heard it. He heard her voice. But this was not the sound he wanted to hear. He wanted to hear her laughing and smiling. But this, this was something Natsu didn't want to her again.

"Mama… don't go…"

Mama? Natsu thought, unsure of this person Lucy was referring to, especially since he had never actually heard Lucy talk.

"Mama… please don't leave me… No! I don't want to be alone!" She started screaming at the end and Natsu realized he had to put an end to this.

He slowly tried to wrap his arms around her and bring her to his chest.

But her thrashing around was too strong and he was worried about hurting her if he actually wanted to go through with his plan. So he threw his leg over hers and wrapped his arms around her whole torso.

"No Papa! I'm sorry Papa! Please don't hurt me again!"

Each word that left her mouth felt like little swords that were stabbing Natsu's heart because he couldn't stand to see Lucy in so much pain.

"Lucy wake up Lucy!" Natsu tried in vain to get the girl to come out of her nightmare, but Lucy was trapped, unable to get out from the torture her own mind was bringing her.

"Please Papa, please! I promise I'll be good! I promise…" Lucy then broke out into sobs after that unable to form coherent words.

"Lucy… it's ok Lucy. No one's going to hurt you. You're ok. I'm right here. You're not alone. Wake up, Lucy… please… it's just a dream wake up," he plead wanting so badly for her to get out of her dream.

Soothed by the sound of Natsu's voice her sobs got quieter and her thrashing weakened. Natsu realized that it was working and brought Lucy closer to him.

"Come on Lucy, just open your eyes and it'll all be over. You'll be here with me and safe. I'm right here Lucy…"

And slowly Lucy's tear filled eyes opened to see Natsu's chest.

When Natsu heard Lucy say his name for the first time, it would be a moment Natsu would never forget.

With her eyes more expressive than he had ever seen, and looking at him as if he were the sun, he heard Lucy muttered his name time and time again.

"Natsu… Natsu… Natsu…"

* * *

**I finished! Woot!**

**Please Review and tell me what you thought!**

**NekoMimiLover**


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